Flirtatious Dude

Ray has been a flirter since way back, but it wasn't until recently that we made a real one and started using it correctly via the instructions at BAD RAP.

For our pole, I purchased a 5 foot by 1/2" pvc pipe at Lowe's for $1.06, I had a new clean rope clothesline from another project and one of Ray's squeakie stuffies.  I ended up also purchasing some washers for each end like our friends at Erie-sisti-Bull suggested.  I ended up spending seventy-five cents for each washer which brought our  project total to a whopping $2.56.  The fun and training we received?  Priceless.

The rules of the game are that your pooch sits, looks, and waits for the signal.  Ray isn't actually looking at me in this picture, but after the first non-wait, he learned pretty darn fast that if we don't play by mom's rules, we don't play at all.

Ray's release word is a simple "ok" so upon that word, he chases the squeaking like it's his job.  I quickly discovered that Ray loves the chase, so we haven't needed a super sturdy toy.  He is even much better at the "drop" with this game because he wants to chase more than he wants to catch.  That's a good thing, since he's a bit portly at the moment and could use the extra activity.

The  mental activity of listening to and executing the commands combined with the physical activity of the chase make for one tired pup.

And a tired pup is a happy pup.

We love our flirt pole so much, we decided to make one for the shelter as well.  So tell us, do you flirt?

Blogging for Good

Sometimes figuring out how one began to read a certain blog can be like engaging in a rousing game of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.  I’ve followed one blogger for probably a decade now and there’s another whom I’ve missed reading for quite some time and yet another whom I’ve only been reading for a couple of years.  I have friends who blog on various platforms and I find it a good way to keep in touch.  My own blogging history includes a few different looks and genres with the current manifestation being more of a “dog blog.” 

About a year or two ago, I began feeling that urge, you know the one, the nest feels a little empty and your cats remain singularly opposed to jumping in the truck to go bye-bye with you so you begin to yearn for a dog.    But this post isn’t about that, it is about blogging itself.  I’m a sports fan, a football fan.  If Michael Vick hadn’t had a great game on a certain Monday night, I never would have seen a certain article that changed my life.  I had read this article about Mel and it broke my heart reading about how scared he was.  I couldn’t get that article off my mind and one evening, embarked on a Google adventure to find the article again to re-read it.    Until I re-read that article, I hadn’t ever given much thought as to what happened to those “Vick Dogs.” 

The article mentioned Best Friends, so I started there and found The Vick Dog Blog, that led me to BAD RAP, and so it went.  From there, I somehow managed to stumble on this post with the most adorable video of a veggie eating Pit Bull and down another fork of the path I went.  It lit a fire in me.  I wanted to foster and if that wasn't in the immediate future, I would volunteer.  And I would learn.  I began reading more and more in an effort to be fully educated on what is happening now in the world, the rescue world and the Pit Bull world which led me to even more great blogs.

When I started this blog, I wanted to write a little again and of course we all hope to connect to others in some way.  We hope to find a connection and make some new friends and be inspired, at least those are my hopes.  Every time we gain a follower (we're up to three!) we do a little dance.  Each comment makes us squee just a little (ok, a lot) and every day we are inspired by the works and words of others.

With that being said, I'd like to share with you Our Waldo Bungie.  We've been reading there for almost a full year now, and are inspired by their mission.  They foster when they can, they transport, they are involved, they give back by making their corner of the world that much better.  As a bonus, they have some pretty spiffy contests, too.  Speaking of that, presently they are engaged in Blogging for Good.  What's the scoop? 

"The grand prize is $1,000.00 for the blogger’s favorite charity and $500 for the blogger to continue his/her advocacy work. The charity I will contribute to if I win is Unleashed Pet Rescue – a Kansas City rescue group that focuses on rescuing dogs who have run out of time at local shelters (especially pit bulls) and reaching out to neglected dogs and their owners in the city by providing lightweight tie-outs instead of heavy chains, medication, food, and dog houses. " (OWB)

It's a win-win.  Now I realize this little corner of blog-ville isn't a mad center for traffic, but I hope anyone reading, will consider voting for Our Waldo Bungie in the Bloggers for Good contest.